387 posts tagged with macintosh.
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Opening old Macwrite files
Ok, so this one is a challenge. I hear it's tougher than time-travel. I'm hoping someone has done it. Old Macwrite and Appleworks files. How can I open them? [more inside]
Best Way to Run Mac OS on an External Drive
Anyone else running MacOS on an external drive? What is the best, most reliable way to do this? Should I just change the external drive to be the boot drive? Change my home directory to the external drive and keep the OS on the internal SSD? Or should I just point my Photo & Music directories to the external drive, since they take up the most space? [more inside]
One of my Chrome accounts is just GONE & I didn't change anything
I have multiple accounts in Google Chrome open at all times with windows on different desktops. This one, tzikeh, always has a whole bunch of tabs open (MetaFilter, twitter, tumblr, news stories, etc.), and I'm always signed in to my social media. I just quit Chrome, restarted my computer, and this account is gone. All of my other accounts are there. This has never happened before and I'm super-upset! [more inside]
Should I buy an Intel Apple or ARM Apple?
As someone who often uses Windows on my iMac, I am a little confused about Apple's impending switch to ARM. I was planning to buy a new iMac next spring, and by then I'm guessing those new machines will have ARM architecture. But will I be able to run Windows on it? [more inside]
Books or resources for OS X for not-so-dummies?
My mom is a fairly adept and experienced OS X user and she would like to teach herself some more advanced home/office user skills, and I am seeking book or online resource recommendations on her behalf. [more inside]
How can I subscribe to shared Google calendars from MacOS and iOS?
Two organizations I belong to publish Google calendars of events. I would like to subscribe to these from my Macintosh and iPhone, so they appear on the calendars I look at every day. I don't want to change which calendar apps I use. How can I do this most easily? [more inside]
Creating Finder icons for video files on a Mac (Catalina)?
Is there a way to create preview icons in the Finder for video files on a Mac with Catalina installed? In the latest version of Mac OS the icons for video files in formats like .wmv and .avi have become just general icons rather than being a visual preview. I don't think that this is currently supported by Apple itself, but is there any third-party software that can accomplish this?
How to install a new version of OSX on a 2009 MacBook?
How to install a new version of OSX on a 2009 MacBook? Without leaving home? [more inside]
Want a quick and easy way to make a video from a folder of images
I have several series of photos that I want to stitch into short quick-cut slideshow videos. Quicktime 7’s "Open Image Sequence..." function used to do exactly this, but for some reason it no longer works. Is there a small Mac app to convert a bunch of images into a video (with the ability to set the duration to show each image)? [more inside]
Tell iTunes to choose folder on external drive for iTunes library
I have a newish Macbook Pro (2016), but am only just now trying to direct iTunes to my iTunes library that lives on an external drive that I backed up from my old laptop. I want to use that location as my default iTunes library instead of putting it all on my laptop (not enough room anyway), but none of the procedures for pointing iTunes at an external drive is working. Help!
(Running Mojave 10.14.6)
Home server for a mostly Mac household
I’ve waxed poetic about my 2009 Mac Pro, which has been a workhorse for years. Recently, it’s been something of a home sever, including as a Plex server. It’s getting less reliable and may need to be replaced. Most likely Mac would be a Mini, but there’s the Apple premium and the Mini hasn’t been updated in about a year (I’m well aware it was not updated for years before that). Should I get Mini, or look at a small PC desktop? [more inside]
How to buy commodity tech on Amazon with a flood of fake reviews
I’d like to buy a DVD burner for my USB-C MacBook Pro. I could pay a premium to buy the Apple external SuperDrive, which isn’t USB-C, and seems like a waste of money. (I have plenty of adapters, it’s simply annoying.) There are tons of alternatives, some name brands, some off-brand—most with rave, and likely fake, reviews. What’s your approach to finding commodity-level tech (USB hubs, power banks, DVD drives, maybe not defibrillators), when Amazon is filled with fake reviews? And what damn DVD drive should I get for my MacBook?
Trying to ID a Book about Apple History
Hi all,
I'm looking for a copy of a book I used to own and lost. It was a book about The Macintosh and Apple as a company. I remember it had a section about sneaking into MacWorld. It was printed in a kind of two-tone orange and purple style and had a soft cover. [more inside]
Can my Mac be saved, or do I just need to buy a new one?
Simple question, I hope, for people who know more than me (and hopefully saving me a fruitless afternoon/day/week/year at the Genius Bar): The WiFi on my 2015 MacBook Pro is almost completely unreliable. Can it be fixed? [more inside]
Was hoping for a new iMac model... Now what?
It's time to replace my wonderful 2010 15" MacBook Pro. I don't necessarily need portability, so I have been biding my time waiting for a new iMac model. These were last updated in mid-2017. I was hoping that Apple would have announced new iMacs at their October 30 event ... but they didn't. They did update the Mini. Is that my best option? [more inside]
Least disruptive way to migrate my wife to her own Apple ID?
My wife and I have been using the same Apple ID for the last 10 years. We would like to bite the bullet and migrate her to her own Apple ID. What is the least disruptive way to do this? Details inside. [more inside]
What Do I Do With These Old Macs
I've been going through shelves of old computers and I've got some old Macs of various levels of reliability. Is there anything interesting I can do with them? Assume in this case that all practical computer and network needs are taken care of. What's impractical but interesting? [more inside]
What do I do in 2017 with a working Macintosh SE?
I very recently got my 29-year-old Mac SE (20 MB HDD, 2.5 MB RAM) out of storage, and - wonder of wonders, it boots and runs OK!
Now what? I'd like to be able to, at the very least, be able to download the contents of my hard drive. What hardware/software would I need for that, with a Windows machine on the other side?
What prevents my Mac Kobo desktop from connecting to Kobo server?
On my primary admin account, I launch a fresh install of Kobo Desktop, click sign in, get this error message:
Network Error Oops, something happening to your internet connection. Please check your connection and try again.I tested with a fresh Mac user account: installed Kobo from disk image and first launch I'm already signed in. No problem communicating with the Kobo server. Can you tell me what might be lingering in my admin account preventing the connection? [more inside]
Replacement for Firefox on Mac OS Sierra?
I've been a Firefox loyalist for...way too long, honestly. Its performance is now dire. It hangs and I have to force quit on a regular basis. What, besides Safari, should I replace it with? [more inside]
Best way to upload tens of thousands of photos to Flickr? 💻 ➡ 🌏
I need a reliable, robust app (or way) to upload an enormous amount of photos from my Mac to my Flickr Pro account. Suggestions or ideas? [more inside]
How can I change the object color in Mac Preview?
I do not have access to photoshop. I would like to change everything that is red in this pic to navy blue.
Dedupe and Merge Crufty Contacts for Mac/iPad
I've delayed tidying my 400-record Address Book/Contacts info way too long. I sync my Contacts between Mac 10.11.6 and iOS 10.0.2 using iCloud. Because my contacts are very private info, I don't want to use an online service like Scrubly. [more inside]
Cant use Mac to proof a PDF book created by Windows inDesign
Last year it worked fine w Mac Preview. I could highlight word or phrase with transparent color, type in correction. All corrections were magically linked to a column of comments, where highlighted phrase is repeated and then comments I type appear. Not working now: Rec a better tool, educate me re: known bug, or a better idea? [more inside]
OSX on-demand antivirus/malware?
I don't do a lot of random downloading, and surf with NoScript, so I'm not too concerned about an always-on solution. I'd like to be able to scan odd bits and pieces, though. I used to use ClamXAV. That's gone to a paid product, which I'm 100% okay with paying for if it's still the best option. What else should I be looking at?
Spinning ball of death on iBook G4
I have a first generation iBook G4 that I am trying to repurpose as a music player (all files stored on a portable drive). It has been off for years at this point (though has a new battery), and when I boot it up, I get the following message, accompanied by the spinning ball ... [more inside]
Can you help me identify an old Macintosh shareware game?
I'd like to know the name of an old classic Mac OS shareware/freeware game I played as a kid (probably within a year or two of 1997). It was actually more of a freeware tech demo than a finished game. It had un-textured polygonal 3D graphics that were interlaced. You played as a (yellow?) wedge-shaped spaceship and flew around a semi-urbanized island. The spaceship could shoot, and there were other ships in an area that you could blow up, but there was no point-system or objectives. It may have had no sound, either. I remember being very impressed by the graphics at the time. [more inside]
Mac experts: Simple question about doing a clean install
My machine has gotten sluggish, and I think I'm going to try a clean install, which it's never had. I understand how to wipe a partition and do a complete install from a bootable USB drive. What I'm not sure about is getting my documents off my backups. Is it as simple as using Migration Assistant? [more inside]
I want to upgrade my Mac OSX from 10.6.8 to 10.7. Free upgrade?
I want to upgrade my Mac OSX from 10.6.8 to 10.7 and then eventually to 10.8. I am looking for free upgrades. Can you point me in the right direction? Thank you hive
4k HD monitor usable in the short term with a late 2011 17" Macbook Pro?
I have a late 2011 MBP 17" 8GB RAM, 2.5 GHz i7, Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB. I need an external monitor right now. I plan to buy the next generation MBP once they come out, top shelf version and upgrade the RAM. I need to know if I can use a 4k monitor in the interim. [more inside]
MacBook Pro is *slow* when I back up with Time Machine
I have a 2-year-old MacBook Pro with a 500 GB SSD running Yosemite. It was fine until 3 days ago, when the computer slowed to a crawl. I rebooted several times; each time, it got slow again. I eventually realized that it slowed down when trying to back up to the external hard drive. I ran Disk Utility, which found no errors on the SSD or the external hard drive. [more inside]
Eeking another year out of a Macbook Air (Late 2010)
I have a late 2010 13" Macbook Air with 2 gb of RAM with OSX 9 (Mavericks) installed that's really showing its age. I'd like to keep it going for another year or so, and I'm interested in strategies to do this. Upgrade, downgrade, leave things alone? [more inside]
How to print an envelope or two on the Mac?
How can I simply print an envelope or two from my Mac to any printer that can handle envelopes? I'm printing directly on the envelope, but it's a standard #10 envelope--no labels, no odd sizes. I'd like USPS barcodes. I've got a copy of EasyEnvelopes and I've been trying to print from it, but nothing happens on my printer and I can't update it because they charge for it now. Printing other docs works fine. [more inside]
Help Me Write Well-formed URL Links on My Mac
I use basic HTML for blog posts, and I don't have a purpose-built client for my blogs. My fingers need macros to keep my code from tangling. My Applescript knowledge is zero. The search terms I'm trying are too ubiquitous. I'm hoping you can tell me how to automate well formed HTML links, in the general form of
<a href="http://ask.metafilter.com">a place with all the answers and amusing prose as well, which sometimes has quite wordy sentences which would show in this title.</a> [more inside]
Issues with uploading photos from Ipad to PC
My PC is not recognizing my iPad as a camera and for this reason, I cannot upload photos from this device to my PC, which is more than a bit frustrating. Details in the [more inside] [more inside]
Macintosh Power Users -- how do you afford to keep up?
I was recently given a heavy Mac G5 Tower by my uncle. It has Mac OS 10.4 "TIGER" on it... [more inside]
Really? The computer that used to come in "Blueberry"?
I'm fed up with Windows and want my next computer to be a Mac—but the product landscape has changed a lot since the last time I seriously considered it. Is an iMac really a competitive machine for someone doing heavy graphics and video work? [more inside]
How to get rid of the remains of an old, unwanted Mac app
Some time ago I seemed to have acquired a less-than-legitimate copy of the Mac app Angry Birds 4.0.0. Since updating my Mac to Mavericks I am bothered daily by a notification popping up asking me to update the app today, or be reminded (forever) about doing it tomorrow(s). [more inside]
Tried to torrent a show, ended up with malware. Help!
Specifically, it's a mplayer virus. It has infected Google Chrome and Firefox, and is showing infuriating pop-up ads and frequently redirecting the browser to ad-like pages. Who knows what else it's doing/stealing/collecting. This may be what I deserve for trying to download some TV, but I need to get rid of it. Running Mac OSX 10.8.5. [more inside]
Why does Microsoft Word always come to the foreground on Mac?
For some recent while, probably since updating the OS X Mavericks, Microsoft Word for OS X keeps coming to the foreground on its own when I'm doing other things, as long as a document is open in Word. If I click out to the Finder, Word makes itself the frontmost program. If I click into the browser, Word comes forward. [more inside]
Installing Mavericks without a working OSX computer
How do I create an OS X Mavericks bootable key *from within windows*? [more inside]
Installing Fedora Commons on OS X Mavericks Server
Digital librarians of Metafilter: I am looking for installation and configuration documentation to get Fedora Commons 3.7 up and running on a Mac OS X (Mavericks) server. Surprisingly, my googling has not yet yielded an up-to-date OS X-specific guide. Can anyone point me to such documentation? Or have you installed Fedora Commons on your OS X server, and have any tips? [more inside]
Please play with our new friend Mac
Please help me get staff at my PC-only workplace to *voluntarily* engage with our new desktop Mac during their breaks. [more inside]
Help Me Identify a Macintosh Computer
I am looking for help identifying a Macintosh computer I used in the late 90s (details inside...no pictures). [more inside]
Old hard drive is inaccessible
I'm trying to get some files off an internal hard drive I haven't used in 5 years or so. I believe this used to be my system drive for an old Macbook. I have a SATA to USB adapter, and just tried plugging it in to my current Macbook Pro (late 2009 model running latest version of Mavericks). I got the dreaded error, "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer." What should I do next? [more inside]
iCloud…Should I Use It?
Just curious if I should use the iCloud? Will it make things complicated for me? Make it easier? Do I need it? Am I using it already?? [more inside]
Help me find these old Mac software and clip art
Please help me find 68k Mac software "Solids" and some isometric 3/4 view clipart... (details in the "inside"...) [more inside]
How to download videos in Safari 7.0 like could be done on Snow Leopard?
I'm all ready to upgrade to Mavericks (OSX 10.9) except for one thing.
On Snow Leopard (10.6.8), I am able to open Safari's "Activity window" and see most video files as they're loading there (however, not certain sites like Hulu). From that window, it's an easy Option-Click to download said video file. Safari 7.0 doesn't have this ability. Is there a Safari 7.0 add-on or something that will bring this ability back to Safari? [more inside]
Hope and Change vs Fear and Loathing - going from OSX 10.6.8 to OSX 10.9
What to expect, what to watch out for, does upgrading make sense at this iteration, is it going to be a disappointing hassle or a marvelous new world? [more inside]
Should I get discrete graphics option on a new MacBook Pro?
I'm in the market for a new 15-inch MacBook Pro. I'll be maxing out the RAM and flash storage. Should I spend an additional $100 to get the model with discrete graphics? Would there be any benefit at all from doing that? Or will the integrated Intel Iris Pro Graphics be sufficient? The discrete graphics option is an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. [more inside]